Strange green things are growing in my garden. I stare at them, hoping they are something recognizable. Have I planted them? Have the birds transported? Or, perhaps the wind?

Gardening brings all sorts of adventures, especially for those of us who perhaps are a bit garden nutto, like me. The other day, pouring down rain, I am standing outside like a demented turkey sprinkling Cerinthe seeds. Why? Because my friend Barbara brought me some seeds. If I plant them in nice weather, the birds will eat them. The birds are hungry as Squirrel eats their bird food.

I come inside the house, tracking mud onto my newly mopped kitchen floor. I change shoes. Then I remember that Barbara also brought me some Nigella seeds. Now I am not sure I want any more Nigella, but I cannot waste a plant seed. So out I go again. It is still raining buckets. I sprinkle more seeds. On the way back into the house, I step in sodden dog poop.

Hopefully the teensy seeds won't drown. But I am happy. I am happy because many of my friends dwell in my garden. Chissie's rose bush thrives, and I say "hello" to it every time I pass. The tree dahlias from Kathy and Leroy are now 10 feet tall, a resting place for chittering sparrows. Because gardeners share, siblings of the tree dahlia thrive in Zann's garden and in Barbara's garden. Barbara's husband was amazed that anybody would travel on BART hauling a 5-foot-high rooted dahlia in a bucket. But on the way, I met a nice lady who talked to me about her specialty tomatoes.

Gardeners recognize kindred spirits, yes we do. And, of course, we take "offerings." Francine gives me cacti, geraniums, daylilies and roses she has grown from a twig. Pat G insisted on giving me some succulents from her pretty collection. They go into my pretty collection. Nancy shared a fuchsia, which is a hummingbird magnet. Dorothy gave me a fig sprout many years ago; it is now a big tree with figs to distribute. I shared a sprout with my Karen daughter, who has a way with plants, and last year she made me a fig pie. Yum! Lynne's rose bush accompanies my rosemary, and Judy told me to take as many as raspberry offshoots as I wanted. She even dug them up for me.

It is only January, and I am already excited about spring. What will it bring? Things I have planted? Mystery plants? And yes, I am still corresponding lo these 60 years, with my English pen-pal, Margot. This began as an 8th grade writing assignment, courtesy of Miss Mott, teacher. Margot is now a noted floral designer and I write garden.